Three coordinated car bombings in Shia areas of Baghdad killed at least 63 people despite an ongoing US-Iraqi security offensive.
Key Facts
- Date
- 18 February 2007
- Car bombs detonated
- 3
- Killed
- 63 people
- Injured
- 131 people
- Deaths at Mohammad Al Qasim Highway
- 60 people
- Notable victim
- Ehab Karim, footballer for Al Sinaa
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Baghdad in early 2007 was experiencing intense sectarian violence amid the ongoing Iraq War. A large US-Iraqi military offensive had been launched in the days prior to the attacks, intended to suppress insurgent activity in the capital's volatile districts.
On 18 February 2007, three car bombs exploded in predominantly Shia neighborhoods of Baghdad. Two blasts struck a market on the Mohammad Al Qasim Highway in New Baghdad, killing 60 people, while a third car bomb rammed a police checkpoint in Sadr City, killing two more and injuring 131 people in total.
The bombings demonstrated that the concurrent US-Iraqi security offensive had not deterred coordinated attacks on civilian areas. Among those killed was Ehab Karim, a midfielder for Iraqi football club Al Sinaa, highlighting the broad civilian toll of ongoing sectarian violence in the city.